Prosecution rests in Novak trial

February 8, 2008

By Sharna Johnson: Freedom New Mexico

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — The prosecution ended its case in the first-degree murder case against Airman Basic Edward Novak II on Friday morning with the testimony of a forensic psychologist, who testified in general terms about memory and how it is affected by trauma.

The defense’s first move was to debunk testimony regarding a wound on Edward Novak’s arm the prosecution has characterized as a sign of a struggle for her life.

Novak is facing life in prison if convicted in his wife’s 2004 death. Kimberly Novak, 20, died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck, officials have said.

Dr. Thomas David, a forensic odentologist retained by the defense, testified the wound, in his opinion, was not a human bite mark, much less a bite mark from Kimberly Novak.